Mormon's Perspective

After recounting the miraculous story of the Nephites’ preservation from the Gadianton robbers in 3 Nephi 3-4, Mormon made an aside to speak in general about the Lord’s goodness to His people.  He wrote, “I have reason to bless my God and my Savior Jesus Christ, that he brought our fathers out of the land of Jerusalem… and that he hath given me and my people so much knowledge unto the salvation of our souls. Surely he hath blessed the house of Jacob, and hath been merciful unto the seed of Joseph. And insomuch as the children of Lehi have kept his commandments he hath blessed them and prospered them according to his word” (3 Nephi 5:20-22).  What impressed me about this passage today was the fact that Mormon was living in a society filled with wickedness on the verge of self-destructing.  And yet he could still rejoice in the miraculous deliverance of the Nephites several hundreds years before him.  He also still had faith in the way that the Lord would bless the house of Israel even though Mormon was watching his own branch of the house of Israel being destroyed completely.  He found great hope in the blessings the Lord would bestow on His people in a future day and could see past the terrible wickedness of his own time. 

             This passage from Mormon illustrates the powerful perspective that the prophet-historian had, and his example teaches us how to see more than just the challenges we are facing in the moment.  Mormon spent many years abridging the 1000-year history of the Nephite people while he was personally in the midst of the wars between the Nephites and Lamanites.  As he wrote the stories of his people, he was able to rejoice with them and their righteousness even though he saw little of the same in his own life.  For example, after describing the people of Alma at the waters of Mormon, he rejoiced with them, exclaiming, “how beautiful are they to the eyes of them who there came to the knowledge of their Redeemer; yea, and how blessed are they, for they shall sing to his praise forever” (Mosiah 18:30).  Similarly, when he wrote of the repentance of the sons of Mosiah he declared, “And how blessed are they! For they did publish peace; they did publish good tidings of good; and they did declare unto the people that the Lord reigneth” (Mosiah 27:37).  Mormon likewise rejoiced in the righteousness of the people after the time of the Savior’s visit: “And how blessed were they! For the Lord did bless them in all their doings…. Surely there could not be a happier people among all the people who had been created by the hand of God.” (4 Nephi 1:16, 18).  Though living in such a terrible crisis in his own day, and one in which he longed for his people to turn to God and repent, Mormon was still able to rejoice in the great blessings of the Lord past and present to get him through the trials of his own day.